1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a folded leaflet and to a method and apparatus for making same. More particularly, it relates to high speed, automated processing of medical outserts.
2. Prior Art
Medical outserts are made by folding printed sheets into miniature secured packets which are issued with pharmaceutical products. High speed operations dispense the outsert in a packaging operation for the pharmaceutical products. Due to the high speed of the packaging operation, the outsert must have all loose edges secured so that it is reliably dispensed during the packaging operation. The outserts are delivered in stacks or columns with a folded edge intended to serve as a leading edge when entering the packaging operation. During the last fold of the outsert, the opposed panels are adhered together resulting in a secured outsert which can reliably be loaded into the packaging operation.
As can be appreciated, the reliability of the outsert is dependent on the uniformity and alignment of the various folds which convert the printed sheet into the miniature folded, secured leaflet. An example of prior art leaflets and methods and apparatus for making same can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,817,931 and 5,046,710. However, these patents only show two initial parallel folds in FIGS. 4 and 5. These patents then describe an off-center cross fold, resulting in a short leg, followed by a final cross fold. The leaflet is then glued together beyond the short leg formed by the first off-center cross fold. As the size of the printed sheet increases, numerous additional folds are required to provide the same size miniature leaflet. Aligning the numerous folds results in a complexity of operations which is not addressed in the above-referenced patents. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an outsert where the final folds are carefully aligned to produce a highly reliable, secured outsert.